


These Days

by its_dian



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Competition, Crushes, Crying, Cute Kids, Fireflies, First Kiss, Flowers, France (Country), Late at Night, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Monopoly (Board Game), Promises, Rings, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 14:35:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30090606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_dian/pseuds/its_dian
Summary: When Dream gets separated from his childhood best friend, he thinks that's it for their relationship. But when that very same person comes back into his life unexpectedly over a decade later? Well, he isn't sure what to make of it.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 119





	These Days

**Author's Note:**

> I was listening to the 'Spring' EP by Wallows on repeat while writing this, and I couldn't help myself. Enjoy!

Running down the street, Clay has to swerve between passersby. He lets out a rushed ‘Pardon me!’ and ‘Sorry!’ here and there, his mother didn’t raise a rude little boy, after all.

But he can’t exactly stop running, because he’s being chased.

“Clay!” Nick draws out the ‘a’ in the word, running after him. They’ve been at this for a bit, just running through the winding streets of the city after one another.

They  _ had _ been playing at Nick’s house, but before either of them knew it they had started bickering good-naturedly. 

And now Clay was running through the streets of the city, with his best friend not far behind.

As they run past various shops, Clay can smell the sweet scent of pastries and the strange smell of his mother’s favorite kind of candle. It’s a weird combination, but it smells like home.

When he was only six months old, his mother and father had moved here to Grasse, France, and he had been raised here ever since. His mother had befriended Nick’s mother shortly after getting here, and they had grown up together.

And boy, was Clay glad that happened. 

Nick’s his best friend in the entire world! He knows they’re only kids now, but he loves Nick. They play together all the time, have sleepovers, go to school together. All the things best friends do!

It’s a nice feeling, to have a best friend. 

Even if he does get caught at the next corner by Nick.

Curse the casual flower pots on the street, they had slowed him down!

It definitely wasn’t the fact that he had gotten lost in his own mind while thinking about Nick.

It wasn’t!

\- - -

Flopping backwards into the flowers, Clay laughs softly.

Him and Nick have been hanging out on the hillside beside Clay’s house, frolicking through the grass and flowers. They’ve been trying to catch fireflies, but so far neither of them have had much luck. 

That is, until Nick suddenly makes a sound of excitement from where he was still standing a few feet to Clay’s left. Sitting up, he makes immediate eye contact with Nick, and Nick stumbles over, falling to his knees beside Clay.

“What? What is it? Did you get one?”

Nick nods quickly, just barely opening his hands enough for Clay to peer over, and- Nick’s got one!

He caught a firefly!

“You got one! It’s so pretty!”

“Yeah!” 

Clay looks up from the firefly after a moment, meeting Nick’s eyes. 

When did they get so close?

Clay can feel himself blush slightly, pushing his forehead to Nick’s.

“You’re pretty too, though.”

Nick pushes his forehead slightly harder against Clay’s, speaking softly. 

“You really mean that?”

Clay nods the best he can, smiling wide.

The two of them break out into giggles, breaking apart and falling side by side into the lavender colored flowers. 

Nick lets go of the firefly, deciding to take Clay’s hand in his instead.

They stay like that for a while, laying there hand in hand, watching the fireflies above them as they make soft conversation.

Clay isn’t sure how Nick is feeling, but he knows that there are butterflies fluttering around in his own stomach.

It’s something he’s never felt before.

He decides quickly that he likes this feeling.

After a while of laying there, they hear Clay’s mother calling to them to come inside. Getting up first, Clay grabs Nick’s hand and pulls him up as well. 

They brush off their clothes, before taking off towards the back porch of his mother’s house. It turns into a competition unintentionally, with Clay being the inevitable winner.

Nick huffs, claiming cheats even though they both know that he couldn’t have cheated.

Once they get inside, they’re met with the warmth of the house coming from the brick fireplace in the living room.

Nick is going to stay the night with Clay’s family tonight, but his mother is still there to hang out with Clay’s own mother.

“Mkay so you boys go upstairs and get changed into your pjs and we’ll play a board game yeah?” His mother’s thick french accent calms Clay’s racing heart down, and he practically drags Nick up the stairs to get them changed.

Grabbing their pjs, they slip into separate rooms and change.

Clay doesn’t remember what pair Nick got, but his is a nice dark green.

Green is his favorite color.

He doesn’t know why that stands out to him, he has plenty of green clothes, but it does.

Shrugging, he leaves his room, running down the stairs. He gets a warning look from his mother. He isn’t supposed to run on the stairs.

But he dismisses that, going to settle onto the floor next to the board game. The game is Monopoly, one of Clay’s favorites. He takes great pride in this game, because despite being younger, he typically wins.

He’s sure it’s his talent, I mean, his family wouldn’t let him win, would they?

He thinks not.

Clay hears footsteps coming down the stairs, and by the time he turns around Nick has already plopped himself down to Clay’s right.

His mother informs them that they only need to wait for Nick’s mother now. She’s apparently taking a phone call outside, so Clay and Nick just sit there quietly mumbling to each other about random things until she gets back.

When she walks back into the room, it’s clear something’s not right. 

But when Clay asks her what’s wrong, she politely avoids the question, saying it’s a topic for later.

What does that even mean?

Clay isn’t sure, but he doesn’t push for answers. His mother told him to try not to do that no matter how curious he is, after he accidentally made her cry of frustration one day because of it. He felt horrible because of it for ages afterward, and after his mother got pregnant with his soon to be little sister, he decided to really mind his words around her.

If he made her cry and upset his little sister before she even existed, he would never forgive himself.

They start the game, quickly losing the weird atmosphere from before as they play. 

Clay tries not to get too competitive, he really does, but he can’t help it. He and Nick have always fallen into friendly competitions around each other, and this is no exception. 

They’re buying property left and right, negotiating with each other's moms to try and get ahead.

By the end of the game, neither of them even win. It turns out to be Nick’s mother who takes the win, somehow having stolen the victory right from under their noses.

Throwing himself backwards onto the floor, Clay makes a sound of defeat.

And then he remembers the ‘news’ from earlier. He still isn’t sure how later ‘later’ is, but he thinks it’s worth a shot asking one more time tonight.

Sitting back up, he leans subconsciously into Nick before speaking.

“So uh- You said you had something to say ‘later’? Is it late enough, ma’am?”

His voice is timid, unsure of whether he’s pushing for information too hard.

“Oh yeah,” Her tone audibly droops a little, “So you know how Nick’s father works for that big tech company?”

Clay nods, feeling Nick nod along with him.

“Well the company wants us to move over to America so Nick’s father can have a better position in the company. If he takes the opportunity, though, we might have to go away and not come back.”

Clay can feel his chest grow heavier, and tears gather in his eyes. 

“He’s not going to take it, is he? He’s not going to make us leave?”

It’s Nick who speaks, his higher-pitched voice laced with clear despair. 

His mother looks sympathetic.

“I’m not sure yet honey, but it’s looking like he’s going to.”

And then the tears start to fall.

Clay immediately forgets the previous game, the happiness he had felt while playing it.

Nick was going to be taken from him, and they couldn’t do anything to stop it.

He knew this was probably good for Nick’s family, getting a promotion so big you have to move to a whole new country can’t be an everyday thing.

But-

But he doesn’t want to lose Nick.

No.

He  _ can’t _ lose Nick.

He feels arms wrap around him and something wet seep into his shoulder.

It’s Nick.

Clay wraps his arms around Nick’s back as well as he lets himself sob. 

It doesn’t last though, because he feels a hand on his shoulder, immediately pulling away from it. The only person he wants to be with right now is Nick, so he stands up, pulling Nick behind him as he rushes to his room.

Once they get there, Clay crashes onto his window seat, a place where him and Nick spend a lot of time together regularly. 

Speaking of Nick, he also roughly sits down beside Clay, and the two of them still haven’t stopped crying.

Reaching out with blurry eyes, he finds Nick’s hand, squeezing it tightly into his own.

He goes to say something, but before he can he feels something press against his lips softly. And then it’s gone just as quickly.

Bringing his other hand up, he quickly rubs some of the tears from his eyes, seeing the- albeit a little blurry- clearly flustered Nick looking away from him.

“Di- Did you just kiss me?” Clay’s voice is nothing but a whisper.

Nick nods hesitantly, and Clay can see the tips of his ears getting visibly more red.

Scooting over, Clay pecks Nick’s cheek.

“I’m really gonna miss you.”

“Don’t- Don’t say things like that. Someday I’m gonna come back and be with you. Gonna marry you and everything.”

Clay feels himself blush as well.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

And a few days later when they’re saying their goodbyes, Nick slips a too-big ring onto Clay’s finger, kissing his cheek once more.

They’ll see each other again, he promises.

\- - -

It’s been 14 years, and Clay still hasn’t heard from Nick.

He’s finally grown into the ring, and his best friend, George, teases him about it constantly.

Gazing out over the city, he sighs. 

He’s grown to be successful over the years, starting an ever-growing youtube channel, and his lack of excessive spending has provided him with enough money to live a nice life.

Not an incredibly expensive one, but one he’s mostly content with at the very least.

Don’t get me wrong, life is fine as it is. If it wasn’t he wouldn’t be able to be sitting on a balcony overlooking his home city, wearing a nice outfit, and sipping a nice non-alcoholic drink from a too-expensive place.

It’s just that he’s clearly not over Nick.

Fourteen-fucking-years and he can’t move past a promise shared between seven year old children.

The thin metal band around his left ring finger sparkles softly in the light, and he places the glass on the table. 

People always mistake him for a married man when they notice it, and he still hasn’t worked up the courage to correct any of them.

He knows it’s probably wrong, and weird, but he can’t shake the feeling that he isn’t complete without his childhood best friend.

Shit, Nick has probably well-forgotten about him by now. Probably doesn’t spare him a single thought in day-to-day life.

Clay wishes he could say the same.

When he’s doing anything, whether it be joking around with his friends or even visiting his mother, he’s always reminded of how he and Nick used to joke around, or how many memories he shares with Nick in those very walls.

It’s pathetic.

He knows that.

Sighing again, he pulls enough cash out of his wallet to pay for the meal and leave a reasonable tip, before taking one more swig of his drink.

He shrugs on his coat, heading home.

“Hey Patchy.”

Once he opens the door to his apartment, he’s immediately met with his cat, Patches, nuzzling against his ankle.

“I missed you too.”

He had been out eating at one of his favorite restaurants, something he does occasionally to destress.

Spoiler alert, it didn’t work this time.

He can still feel the ever-prominent presence of the ring on his finger, and when he closes his eyes, he can almost still feel the soft press of lips against his cheek.

. . .

What is he even doing anymore?

He pulls off his coat, haphazardly hanging it on the coat rack before sliding off his shoes.

He pads down the hall, Patches on his heels, and slips into the kitchen.

He gives her some fresh food and water, before using the bathroom quickly and settling into his office chair.

He knows he should go to bed, but he feels like he’s on autopilot when he hits the call button on discord and boots up minecraft.

The call gets accepted almost immediately.

Apparently he’s not the only one up late at night alone with their thoughts.

“Hey George.”

Humming softly, George responds with a simple ‘Hello’ back, and they silently agree to keep the conversation light tonight.

Their voices are nothing but whispers as they both hop onto a random world, deciding to just have a calm night of taking it slow and beating the game together.

Clay rarely takes anything slow, much less when it comes to minecraft.

It’s calm, and it’s nice.

\- - -

“What? What do you mean?”

“I  _ mean _ you have a visitor honey, and it’s someone you’ll want to see. Now come down here.”

What the hell?

Saying his goodbyes, Clay hangs up the phone, slipping on his shoes. 

As he walks the short distance to his mother’s house, he takes in the soft smell of perfume coming from all of the shops.

Who could possibly be at his mother’s house to see  _ him _ ?

He glances down at his outfit. 

Hopefully not someone he needs to look nice for.

He’s wearing a simple pair of black sweatpants and one of his own merch hoodies.

Nothing fancy at all.

He plays absentmindedly with the ring gracing his left hand, a comforting gesture he’s developed over the years.

And once he reaches his mother’s house, he only gets even more confused.

There’s no one outside, which means his mother was comfortable enough to let them in.

Who  _ is _ it?

Opening the door and shutting it behind him, he announces his arrival loudly, unsure of where to go in the house.

He hears his mother’s voice call out happily, telling him that they’re in the living area.

And what he sees when he rounds the corner into the living room causes him to freeze in his tracks.

Wait.

_ Wait. _

There’s no way.

“Nick?”

“Hi there.”

Clay lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, rushing towards Nick, practically falling into his arms.

He holds him tight as Nick pets his hair, whispering words Clay can’t register.

He’s not registering anything but the fact that he’s here with Nick.

As in, he’s holding Nick. Being held _ by _ Nick.

Pulling back only just enough to press his forehead to Nick’s (Just like when they were little, Clay’s brain supplies helpfully), he speaks quietly, voice only loud enough for them to hear as warm tears flow down his face.

“Am I dreaming?”

Nick shakes his head the best he can, taking Clay’s left hand into one of his own.

“You kept the ring.”

“Of course I did. It’s all I had left of you.”

And then they’re kissing.

Clay’s mother must have left at some point, giving them their privacy, because it’s just them in the living room now.

“I missed you, I missed you so much.”

“I missed you more, I  _ promise _ you that.”

They’re on the floor now, nothing more than a mess of limbs as they hold one another.

“As much as I love that you kept the ring, I think it’s about time you get something better, yeah?”

And then Nick is pulling away gently, causing Clay to whine softly, trying to pull him back in.

But then Nick’s getting down on one knee in front of him, pulling out a little black box.

“I know we’ve only just met again after so long apart, but I still love you the same as I did then, Clay. You don’t have to say yes, I’ve waited fourteen years and I can wait another hundred. But if you still feel the same about me I need to know, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”

And when he cracks the box open and reveals the contents, Clay tears up even more.

It’s similar to the one he’s wearing now, a simple metal band, but instead of being plain, it has two words engraved onto the inside, with a heart engraved onto the outside behind it.

And those two words have Clay nodding helplessly, nearly tackling Nick to the ground in his excitement.

“I Promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm not sure how well I did but I had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope you enjoyed! Have a nice day and please note that all kudos and comments are greatly appreciated :]


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